Coleman enjoying professional success

The entire Houma-Thibodaux area united as one to support the Thibodaux boys’ basketball team in their quest to win the Class 5A State Championship.

But the Tigers even inspired one of their own making a name for himself across the pond.

Thibodaux alum and professional basketball player Shavon Coleman is now in his 5th season of pro basketball, currently on a team in the Netherlands for the 2019 season.

Coleman spoke to The Times this week about his career, saying that it’s a continued dream come true to be able to get paid to play the game he loves.

But he also lauded the work of his alma mater in winning the title, adding that it was a proud day for the entire city when the team trumped Walker and scored the crown — their first in school history.

“My neighbors were probably upset with me for all the screaming I was doing,” Coleman said with a laugh when talking about the team’s historic run. “It was like 3 a.m. over here when they won, so I was over-hyped. To see my high school win state for the first time was a very happy moment for me, and Coach Clark and his staff did a job having the players ready all year.”

At one time not to long ago, Coleman was one of those dominant Thibodaux players — one of the greats of all-time at the school.

After dominating at the high school level, Coleman went to Howard College, then LSU where he established himself as a two-year contributor for the Tigers in the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons.

After averaging 9.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game as a senior, Coleman fielded offers from teams around the country before making his professional debut with Al Khor, a pro team in Qatar in 2014-15.

Since that time, Coleman has played in Qatar, Luxembourg and now the Netherlands — going on his fifth season touring the country playing ball.

He said the opportunity to travel the globe and showcase his talents is not something he takes for granted.

“For me to be able to travel around the world has been a real great experience for me,” Coleman said. “Coming from Thibodaux, I would have never thought I could see so many beautiful countries. It doesn’t get any better than traveling all over the world and playing the game that you love the most.”

But Coleman is also a tactician and a master of his craft.

He said he works tirelessly to get better and be the best player he can be.

Coleman is currently playing for Windmills — a pro team in the Dutch Professional Basketball League.

At press-time, Coleman is a force, averaging 17.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game for a team that’s 15-11 on the season — fifth place in the 10-team league.

Coleman said the current season is going “really great,” adding that he’s pleased with the progress the team has made throughout the year. He also said the Netherlands is a beautiful land filled with great people — though he spends more time in the gym than he does socializing with the natives in his new homeland.

“I’m always pushing myself to get better in as many ways as possible on the court,” Coleman said. “I’m working on my jump shot, so that means I’m shooting a lot more and I’m also working on how to break down my defenders off the dribble so I can get more easy baskets.”

For Coleman, the goal is to ascend to as high a level as possible in the playing days he has left.

Coleman is still in his prime and isn’t looking to stop going anytime soon.

But he adds that he does have plans in the back of his mind to give back to the sport once unable to compete — adding that he can’t envision a world where he isn’t by the game in some capacity.

“I would love to play basketball until I can’t go anymore. I still have a lot left in me, so hopefully I can stay healthy every year to keep me playing,” he said. “Once I feel like I can’t compete at a high level anymore, that’s when I feel I will walk away from the game, but until then, my goals are to keep playing every season and compete for championships. After I’m done playing, though, since I love the game so much, I would still want to be around it. I’ll like to get into coaching. I’d like to coach, because I believe I have a gift that I could use to help out kids and make a difference in their lives. I would love to see kids graduating and help them get college scholarships. That’s my passion once my career is over — whenever that might be.” •

Shavon Coleman

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